Markets, Mobs, and Mayhem: A Modern Look at the Madness of Crowds

Aaa+

I found the book to be a good reminder to keep a level head. If you do that while the world is in chaos you will benefit yourself and those you care about.

This is not a book for the masses. It won't make you rush out and buy anything. It probably won't even change your life in any substantial way. But it will make you think. And it might just prevent you from being victimized by the latest fad or swept away by the next hysteria. Most readers, I suspect, have heard of the tulipmania or the South Sea company madness, but this book gives a brief survey of the lesser known, or lesser recognized, panics or manias, including those that have nothing to do with financial markets. I found it stimulating reading, laced with a little humor.The book's message, if internalized, operates like a Segway scooter applied to the business world. It should keep you on an even keel. And in the often topsy-turvy world of Wall Street finance (or just life in the 21st Century), it really helps to have an internal gyroscope or automatic stabilizer that keeps you from falling over every time you hit a bump in the road.It's not a book for the masses. But that's probably just the point. Next time you want to rush out and join the herd, it might help to read, or reread, this book.

After reading "Devil Take the Hindmost," which deals very intelligently and thoroughly with investment bubbles of all kinds going back to the South Sea Bubble, I was very much looking forward to reading this book, particularly as it has been written by a very successful stock market investor. I was, however, sadly disappointed.The author expends virtually all of his efforts discussing mob behavior, but rarely in the context of investments and market madness, i.e., most of the examples he uses relate to Ku Klux Klan activities, the French citizens' attack on the Bastille, the Watts riots and other such emotional mob activities. While these are often interesting and sometimes horrifying, they have only tangential bearing on market manias and investment fads. Furthermore, most of the text has been copied and pasted from reports on these activities that were written by others.As an investment professional (and having invested in the market myself for over 35 years), I have long believed that, at least in the short term, market prices are dictated as much by psychology as by fundamentals such as profit growth, investment return expectations, balance sheets, business strategies, profit margins, competiting products and services, interest rates and such. And I thought the book would provide at least a few insights into investor psychology and how it moves markets; certainly a thorough discussion of the Dotcom and tech manias of recent years would have been a very apt topic for discussion.Alas! There was no discussion at all about these issues of investment psychology; rather, the author was content to provide example after example of how, many times in the past, mobs are capable of taking on a life of their own and engaging in group-think, abandoning analysis and rational decision-making. Well, I guess we already know that. We are left on our own to try to figure out how "collective mob behavior" infects investors' psyches and affects the movement of stock prices.Readers who would like a lot more insight into that process should buy "Devil Take the Hindmost," and not waste their time or money on this book.Ralph

The book is really great and interesting. Like brand new (but almost free). Contains useful insights into how people behave in groups, occasions of mass hysteria and especially the stock market (it was written by a stock market expert).I wonder if a book will ever be written about the mass hysteria/cult/Trump Derangement Syndrome created by the legacy media & CIA since they lost the 2016 rigged election in the USA? Markets, Mobs and Mayhem provides great insight into how it may have happened.

Excellent book and speedy delivery